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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Department of Chemistry and Physics represents UNE at Maine Science Festival

Photo of UNE students at Maine Science Festival

Amy Keirstead, Ph.D., associate professor, and Tim Robbins, Ph.D., assistant lecturer, both in the Department of Chemistry and Physics, as well as seven UNE students represented the College of Arts and Sciences at the second annual Maine Science Festival, which was held March 18-19 in Bangor.

Keirstead, along with Lora Walsh (Chemistry and Applied Mathematics, '18), Meredith Capuco (Biochemistry, '16), Ryan Juneau (Biochemistry, '16), Jess Woolf (Biochemistry, '17) and Megan Perry (Biochemistry and Applied Mathematics, '16) did a day-long outreach activity at the festival about natural and biodegradable packing materials.  The group learned about the topic as part of the Green Chemistry Fellows training that they did last fall.  

Under the guidance of Robbins, Andi Sinde (Biochemistry, '19) and Ben Martin (Medical Biology, '18) ran a technology demonstration at the festival about an introduction to computational chemistry designed for high school students.

Approximately 1,000 K-12 students attended the festival, which was featured on WCSH news.

Jess Woolf and Megan Perry lead a group of students in a hands-on green chemistry activity of making “ecovative” shapes. Ecovati
Jess Woolf and Megan Perry lead a group of students in a hands-on green chemistry activity of making “ecovative” shapes. Ecovative is a styrofoam alternative that uses agricultural waste and mycelium that can be molded into various shapes as a packaging material.